Richaun Holmes' journey from an unknown entity to NBA draft sleeper

After just three years at Bowling Green, Richaun Holmes became the only player in Falcons history to record 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 200 blocks. Yet even with rim protection at a premium in the NBA, the 6'9", 232-pound specimen was unsure if his basketball playing days would continue.

Jake Fischer | Jun 10, 2015

Richaun Holmes' journey from an unknown entity to NBA draft sleeper /

Ever since its inception in 1953, the Portsmouth Invitational has hosted the nation’s premier college basketball seniors each April. Legends like Rick Barry, Earl Monroe and Dave Cowens graced the floor in the 1970s. Later came John Stockton, Dennis Rodman, Tim Hardaway and Scottie Pippen. In 2011, an unheralded Marquette guard named Jimmy Butler used the four-day tournament to jumpstart his NBA career.

Even with the storied history of giving NBA-worthy players the ability to get seen by NBA scouts, when Bowling Green senior Richaun Holmes’ collegiate career ended following a loss in the CIT, he was unaware of the opportunity Portsmouth offered in his pursuit of being selected in the NBA draft.

“I had never heard of the Portsmouth before this year,” Holmes tells SI.com.

After just three years at Bowling Green, Holmes became the only player in Falcons history to record 1,000 points, 600 rebounds and 200 blocks. Yet even with rim protection at a premium in the NBA, the 6'9", 232-pound specimen was unsure if his playing days would continue. “I always felt like there was going to be a chance for me to play professionally somewhere, I just didn’t know where.”

Although unsettling, Holmes found himself in a familiar situation. A late-bloomer in high school, both physically and skill-wise, Holmes played only two seasons of varsity basketball, leaving him without any Division I scholarship offers.

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Beating the NBA Draft Lottery Odds

Orlando Magic

Since the NBA instituted a weighted lottery system before the 1990 draft, nine teams with a less than 10 percent chance of winning the drawing have been awarded the No. 1 pick. No team beat the odds quite like the 1993 Magic, who, after barely missing the playoffs at 41-41, made good on their 1.5 percent chance (1 Ping-Pong ball out of 66) to claim the top spot for the second consecutive season (they had snagged Shaquille O'Neal in '92). Orlando wound up selecting Chris Webber and trading him to Golden State for Penny Hardaway and three first-round picks. Two years later, Shaq and Penny led the Magic to the NBA Finals.

Golden State Warriors

After the Warriors delivered on their 9.4 percent chance, then-general manager Dave Twardzik said, ''Whoever you take, some people are going to say, 'How could pass on this [other] guy?' '' Twardzik experienced the second-guessing first-hand: The Warriors chose forward Joe Smith while the rest of the top five was Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett.

New Jersey Nets

Pegged to draft seventh after a 31-51 season, the Nets instead cashed in on their 4.4 percent chance of winning the lottery. New Jersey picked forward Kenyon Martin, who proved to be a key part of back-to-back Finals teams in 2002-03 before being shipped to Denver as part of a sign-and-trade deal in 2004.

Houston Rockets

An 8.9 percent chance was enough for the Rockets to leapfrog four teams and win the Yao Ming sweepstakes. Yao was productive when healthy, but the healthy part didn't happen nearly as much as Houston would have hoped. The 7-6 center retired in July 2011 after nine seasons in which he averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks, with a 6.3 percent chance, jumped from sixth to first and selected center Andrew Bogut ahead of point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Bogut spent seven years with the Bucks before being traded to Golden State. He led the league with 2.6 blocks in 2010-11.

Toronto Raptors

General manager Bryan Colangelo entered his first draft in Toronto with the biggest prize after the Raptors vaulted to the top despite only an 8.8 percent likelihood. The Raptors used the choice to make Italy's Andrea Bargnani the NBA's first European No. 1 pick. Bargnani averaged a career-high 21.4 points in 2010-11 and followed that with 19.5 points in an injury-shortened 2011-12, but he's been criticized for his defense and rebounding.

Portland Trail Blazers

While the teams with the three worst records -- Memphis, Boston and Milwaukee -- got the fourth, fifth and six picks, Portland won the lottery with its 5.3 percent chance. The windfall didn't pay off, however, as the Trail Blazers passed on Kevin Durant in favor of Greg Oden, who has played only 82 regular-season games over five seasons because of persistent knee injuries. The Blazers waived Oden in March 2012.

Chicago Bulls

The Bulls turned their 1.7 percent chance into the first pick. They did just fine with it, too, selecting Chicago native Derrick Rose, who was the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year, an All-Star a year later and the league MVP in 2010-11.

Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers used the pick obtained in a trade with the Clippers to win the No. 1 pick despite just 2.8 percent odds. That put them in position to draft Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, who turned into the Rookie of the Year and the centerpiece of their post-LeBron rebuilding effort.

All the above has Holmes in tremendous position entering the NBA draft. Teams have expressed interest in Holmes as high as the late 20s in the first round, according to multiple sources, which has him practically overbooked for pre-draft team workouts.

To make the most of his opportunity, Holmes simply has to approach the next few weeks like he does rotating from the weak side to erase a shot: “It’s just staying on your toes and being ready to move.”

• GALLERY: Teams that beat the draft lottery odds over the years

Beating the NBA Draft Lottery Odds

1993 Orlando Magic

1993-NBA-Draft-Anfernee-Penny-Hardaway-Chris-Webber.jpg — Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

No team beat the odds quite like the 1993 Magic, who, after barely missing the playoffs at 41-41, made good on their 1.5% chance (1 Ping-Pong ball out of 66) to claim the top spot for the second consecutive season (they had snagged Shaquille O'Neal in '92). Orlando wound up selecting Chris Webber and trading him to Golden State for third overall pick Penny Hardaway and three first-round picks. Two years later, Shaq and Penny led the Magic to the NBA Finals.

1995 Golden State Warriors

After the Warriors delivered on their 9.4% chance, then-general manager Dave Twardzik said, ''Whoever you take, some people are going to say, 'How could pass on this [other] guy?' '' Twardzik experienced the second-guessing first-hand: The Warriors chose forward Joe Smith while the rest of the top five was Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett. Smith went on to play for 12 different NBA teams over 15 years, never once named an All-Star.

2000 New Jersey Nets

Pegged to draft seventh after a 31-51 season, the Nets instead cashed in on their 4.4% chance of winning the lottery. New Jersey picked forward Kenyon Martin, who proved to be a key part of back-to-back Finals teams in 2002-03 before being shipped to Denver as part of a sign-and-trade deal in 2004.

2002 Houston Rockets

An 8.9% chance was enough for the Rockets to leapfrog four teams and win the Yao Ming sweepstakes. Yao was productive when healthy, but the healthy part didn't happen nearly as much as Houston would have hoped. The 7-6 center retired in July 2011 after nine seasons in which he averaged 19 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

2005 Milwaukee Bucks

The Bucks, with a 6.3% chance, jumped from sixth to first and selected center Andrew Bogut ahead of point guards Chris Paul and Deron Williams. Bogut spent seven years with the Bucks, where he led the league with 2.6 blocks in 2010-11, before being traded to Golden State in 2012.

2006 Toronto Raptors

General manager Bryan Colangelo entered his first draft in Toronto with the biggest prize after the Raptors vaulted to the top despite only an 8.8% likelihood. The Raptors used the choice to make Italy's Andrea Bargnani the NBA's first European No. 1 pick. Bargnani averaged a career-high 21.4 points in 2010-11 and followed that with 19.5 points in an injury-shortened 2011-12, but he's been criticized for his defense and rebounding. In 2013 Bargnani was traded to the Knicks, where injuries have kept him off the court more often than not. The Nets signed Bargnani to a multi-year contract in 2015, only to waive him in Feb. 2016.

2007 Portland Trail Blazers

While the teams with the three worst records — Memphis, Boston and Milwaukee — got the fourth, fifth and six picks, Portland won the lottery with its 5.3% chance. The windfall didn't pay off, however, as the Trail Blazers passed on Kevin Durant in favor of Greg Oden, who played only 82 regular-season games over his first five seasons because of persistent knee injuries. The Blazers waived Oden in March 2012 and after a brief stint with Miami two years later, Oden hasn't played since.

2008 Chicago Bulls

The Bulls turned their 1.7% chance into the first pick. Chicago selected native Derrick Rose, who was the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year, the league MVP in 2010-11 and a three-time All-Star. Since May 2012, however, Rose has undergone three knee surgeries which have caused him to miss a significant amount of time.

2011 Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers used the pick obtained in a trade with the Clippers to win the No. 1 pick despite just 2.8% odds. That put them in position to draft Duke point guard Kyrie Irving, who turned into the Rookie of the Year and the centerpiece of their post-LeBron rebuilding effort. The 2013, '14 and '15 All-Star was given some help entering the 2014-15 season with the signing of free agent LeBron James.

2014 Cleveland Cavaliers

Eight teams had better odds than the Cavaliers, who lucked out yet again with just a 1.7% chance this time. Their selection of Andrew Wiggins parlayed into a trade with Minnesota to acquire Kevin Love two months later. Wiggins went on to win Rookie of the Year with the Timberwolves while Love's numbers dipped with the Cavs and he suffered a dislocated shoulder in the team's 2015 first-round sweep of the Celtics.

Published Jun 10, 2015

JAKE FISCHER

Jake Fischer has covered the NBA for Sports Illustrated since May 2015. He is a graduate of Northeastern University and a "just-outside-of" Philadelphia native.